Temperature control apparatus



Dec. 19, 1950 L. A. cox

TEMPERATURE coNTRoL APPARATUS Filed sept. 2a, .194e

Patented Dec. 19, 1950 TEMPERATURE CONTROL APPARATUS Linvell Arnett Cox, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application September 28, 1946, Serial No. 700,095

6 Claims.

1 The present invention relates to self-contained automatic air flow controlling registers for air vconditioning systems.

It has long been considered that automatic invdividual room control for air conditioning systems is most desirable but the prior art apparatus capable of giving the desired results is generally complicated and costly.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide improved apparatus for individual room control of air conditioning systems.

It is also an object to provide an improved self-contained automatic air outlet control capable of controlling air flow in response to room temperature.

It is an additional object to provide an improved automatic register for air conditioning systems that functions equally well on either a heating or a cooling sequence. l It is a further object to provide an automatic self-contained register which is readily adjusted for either heating or cooling control and which has a readily adjusted control point for either sequence.

It is also an object to provide ,an automatic lself-contained register having means for readily connecting in or disconnecting the automatic mechanism from Operative relation and permitting the manual closing of the said register.

It is another object to provide a register of the 'sort described which is simple and dependable,

adapted for mass production and easily installed.

' These and other objects will become apparent upon a study of the following specification and drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation View taken on line I--I of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a front elevation, with parts in section, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a partial front elevation View showing a detail.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a portion of the present mechanism with parts in section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

The present control devices or registers are used on the outlets of ducts supplying conditioned air.

to rooms or other spaces, and control the flow of air through the individual ducts in response to the temperatures sensed by the thermostatic means of the respective registers.

The basic register used in the present invention is preferably of the vsort having movable shutter Or damper blades arranged to provide a uniform direction of air flow and to cause good aspira-ting effects at all degrees of opening. The

device IIJ shown is of this type but for a fuller description of this sort of register, reference is'made to the copending application of Hermanson and Joesting, Serial No. 656,274, led March 22, 1946.

The register I0 may include a housing II havying a downwardly extending vportion I2 arranged to be connected to a duct, not shown, or may have its parts arranged to be inserted in an existing housing or the like. The register portion proper includes a transversely arranged section I3 extending out through an opening in the wall I4 and having a discharge opening I5. Bladesv I6 and I1 are hingedly mounted to casing I3 and are connected for simultaneous Operation by link means I8, I9 and 2B. Vertically arranged vanes 24 are adjustable to give the desired distribution -of air within the space being treated, as more upon a full consideration that the present invention can be used with any conventional register structure that provides a good aspirating 'effect on the air being treated. I

Pivoted lever 23, which is connected to 1ever`2I of blader I'I by link 22, forms part of an operating mechanism for the present device generally designated as 25. Operating mechanism 25 is assembled on a U-shaped frame 26 of a suitable material such as strip steel and includes vertical legs 21 land 28 and a horizontal connecting 'portion 29. The frame 26 is connected to housing! I or other suitable structural part of the register by means such as brackets 30, one of which is shown, connected between the aforementioned legs and section I3 of said housing I I. The mechanism 25 includes a vertically movable shaft 3| actuated by a bellows 32, the bellows exerting a variable force upwardly on the said shaft 3|. Shaft 3I is guided in its vertical movements vby flexible reed means 33 and 34 suitably attached to leg 26 of frame 26. The pressure for expanding bellows 32 is generated by a temperature responsive bulb 35 connected to bellows 32 by a capillary tube 36, the bulb 35 being located below the projecting portion I3 of the register and on the room side of wall I4. Bulb 35 is secured to section I 3 by means not shown and is concealed and'shielded by a trim strip means 38 having openings 39 in its bottom portion and openings 4D in-its upper portion. In the normal Operation of the register, the discharged air tends to aspirate the room air in a manner to cause a flow of air up along the reason for this is explained by the presence, under i all normal circumstances, of a liquid evaporating surface in the bulb. Obviously, with an increase in temperature at bulb 35, the pressure in bellows 32 is increased, thus tending to move shaft 3| upwardly, whereas a decrease in temperature at bulb results in a decreased force exerted on shaft 3| by bellows 32 thus permitting the forces opposing bellows 32 t0 move shaft 3| downwardly.

The force opposing bellows 32 is principally caused by a lever means 44 which bears against a -knife edged pivot means 45 carried by shaft 3|, -and which lever is fulcrumed at its right end by a pivot means generally designated as 46. A suitsaid lever means 44 and tends to rotate the same about pivot means 46 in a manner to force shaft 3| downwardly. The pivot means 45 includes a roller 41 pivotally mounted in a frame 48 built up able weight 4| is attached to the left end of the on link means 49. Link means 49 is pivoted to a -link 50 which in turn is pivotally mounted on -bracket 5| attached to leg 21 of frame 2E. Link -49 is also pivotally attached to a rotatable arm 552 which is attached to a vertical rotatable shaft 53 mounted on leg 28 of the said frame 25. Ro-

`tatable shaft 53 extends to the upper portion of the device and is there connected to an adjusting and indicating lever 55 which operates in slot 5E of a suitable scale plate 51. To protect lever 55, a cover member 58 is arranged to form a part 0f the housing structure As shown in Figure l,

a suitable trim strip 59 is arranged between cover 58 and wall i4 at the upper portion of the apparatus.

As will be obvious upon inspection, rotation of shaft 53 and arm 52 moves the pivot means generally designated as 46 along the right end of lever means 44, the frame 48 of the said pivot means being guided by bracket means 54 attached to leg 28 of frame 26. As the pivot means 4B is adjusted toward shaft 3 weight 4| has an increased effect i in opposing the force exerted by bellows 32 on shaft 3|, whereas, when the pivot means 46 is moved to the right end of lever means 44, weight 4| has less effect in opposing the forces due to bellows'32 on the said shaft 3 the difference in eifect being due to the diiference in the leverage ratios of the mechanism. While a weight 4| is shown, it is obvious that a suitable spring may be substituted for the said weight. A weight is used be i cause of its lack of a spring rate which thus permits a Very low operating differential for the instrument. However, as is obvious to those skilled in the art, the operating differential may also be kept suitably low by using a compensated spring means for opposing the bellows 32.

Lever 23 is pivotally mounted at B0 to shaft 3|, hence the pivot portion at least of the said lever is moved vertically upon movement of the said shaft. Lever means 23 is in the form of a l double bell crank and has oppositely arranged crank portions 6| and 52. A clutch link means 63 having an outwardly directed v-notch 64 is pivoted at 55 to crank portion 6| while a similar clutch link 66 having a V-notch 61 is pivoted at 68 to crank portion 62. Notches 64 and 61 are so proportioned that the vertical distances between their outer edges is at least equal to the vertical travel of shaft 3|. The inner opposed edges of link means 63 and 55 are engageable with a bearing 'l0 which is carried by a bracket attached to leg 2 of frame 25. Bracket 1| includes hori zontally disposed guide portions 'l2 and "|3 having slots 'i4 and '|5, respectively.

A slide member l@ including bent-ever portions Il and 'I3 is slidably mounted on extensions 'i2 and T3 of bracket means l'i by pin means '59 and 3Q extending through slots 'i4 and l5, respectively. Pin means 'i9 and Si) not only slidably guide means 18 but also iirnit the travel of the same. Bent over portion il of slide 'E3 has an inwardly directed Vv or wedge shaped portion 8| directed toward link means 53 whereas bent-over portion 'I8 includes a similar V or wedge shaped portion 82 shown in mating engagement with notch 6l of link |35. l

The V-shaped portions 8| and 82 are spaced apart a sufficient distance such that portion 82 may engage notch 5? as shown when slide means 'I6 is in its extreme left position. When moved to the right a sufficient distance, portion 82 may disengage from link G5 without portion 8i engaging link E3 but when moved still further to the right, to the extreme of travel of the slide means portion 8| will then be in mating engagement with notch B4 of link 53, bearing means l5 preventing either link 53 or S3 from moving away from its respective engaging means. By propertioning notch means lil-i and 6l so that the vertical distance between the outer edges of the said notches is at least equal to the full travel of shaft 3|, either wedge-shaped portion 8| or S2, upon engaging the respective notch portion in link G3 or 56, may force the respective link to move sufficiently to permit a full and proper mating engagement of the notch with the wedge-shaped edge of the slide means.

In the position shown, with link til locked against vertical movement, lever 23 will obviouslvv be rotated in a clockwise direction about pivot B8 by an upward movement of shaft 3i with, of course, a reverse rotative movement upon a downward motion of the said shaft. When wedge portion 8l is in mating engagement with notch 54 of link 53, so that link 63 is xed against nicvement and link et is free to move vertically, a similar upward movement of shaft Si will result in a counterclcckwise movement of lever 23, with a clockwise movement beingcaused by a downward movement of shaft 3 l Slide means 'i5 is adjusted by a connecting member Se attached to a cylindrical tubular member 85 having a cam slot 85. A rotatable plug 81 having a pin te engageable in the Slot 85 is rotatably mounted in the said tubular means $5 and is journaled at S9 in a suitable portion 9D of the register housing structure. Plug means 87 is rotated by a suitable key and indicatingI means 9| which is essentially nen-circular in shape but has a suitable circular necked down portion at the journal 83. Rotation of key means 9|, resulting in a rotation of plug 8l, causes a similar rotative movement of pin 83. However, because of cam slot 35, tubular member 85, which is prevented from rotating by its attachment to connecting means is caused to travel longitudinally along plug S'E.

In the position shown, tubular lmember 85 is at the extreme left of its travel, slide means 16 is at its extreme left position, and indicating means 9| has been rotated to its clockwise ex- 1 treme: (iounterciockwiseA rotation` of'- 9| will' canse. a reverse movement oftubular'member fand slide 1li` thus tending to disengageiwedge 'ed'e'for-*face 82 from notch 51, thisdisengaging operation being completed by the adjustmentof `means9l" to its vertical or neutral position; Further counterclockwise rotation i of means 9| then causes an engaging of wedge face 82|? with-f notch Comiecting means 8d' is sl'idably guided; rela.- tive to section lf3 of housing by a suitable pin 32 extending through a slot 83 in said? means 8e. A. slideV means 94', guided by a suitable opening v-575 in member 90 and also by aslot 56 engaging pin. 92, is arranged to directly enga-ge lever 23.

'A' downwardly extending angular portion ill-f of member 945 has an opening'- 33 therein arranged toregi'ster with and to slide over means dit when the said means 9i isturned to its vertical orneutral position. The said' means 9 |1` is permitted to turn to positions other than neutral. only when nreanstfl1 is at its left extreme because- Ofneckedl"down portion 99 of means 9| being located to valign with portion 9-1 of means 84 when. said. poru'tion is at its extreme left" position.

' position shown; member 34' cannot be shifted in either direction because notch 518A of portionV 91 Thus, in the is" inregistry withy the necked-down portion 95 v of 9| but 3| is not in registry with.y openingA 9,53. l

The necked-down portion 991 of member 9| is thus so arranged that member 54 mustbe adirusted, to its left extreme', wherein it has noef'ectzon llever: 23, before means Si can be adjusted for eithera heating or cooling sequence'. y i

While it is believed that the.` present invention is clearly disclosed, it will now be` briefly described in terms off'its operation.

Operation m the position shown, it. is noted-.that indicatingV means 9| is directed toward.Heatir1g;.

'- hence it is assumed that the apparatus. otmech- :mism 25. is. adjusted to control" blades l and |11 in. response to a conventional. heating.' cycle. 'Thus the. blades l5 and H should be opened when more heat is desired and closed, when less heat desired. As a consequence. of, this adjustment of' 9|., tubular portion 8.5v is at. itsaleft extreme', slide` means 1.6 is adjusted to. itsr left extreme, and wedgeeshaped portion. 8,2 of; the said slidel isin mating engagement with, notch Elf of link means B', thereby holding; the, said link means iixed against. verticalmovement. Therefore, leverl 23 isY etico-tively pivoted at |58` and movement upwardly of shaft 3|; due to an increase. in. temperature.. and a consequent increase in pressure causing an expansion of bellows 32, will result in a clockwise movement of lever 23I and a. consequent closing of blades I6.

and l1. As a rise in temperature in,l the space being treated will result in additional pressure being generated in bulb 35, it follows that a suitable. increase in pressure in bulb will` expand bellows 32 and movev shaft. 3|" upwardly to thereby' 'rotate lever 2.3 about pivot` 58- and close; blades the leverage-vV ratios off lever means Nif-avonlable toweight 4| in itsA oppositionv tobellowszz' hence a relatively high pressurev is required? at bellows 32 to overcome. the eiect: of? weight'. 42|. When the indicating and adjusting lever; is moved to the left along` scale. plate'. 5l; or to a position for a lower control point; this will result in a clockwise movement ot arm-y 52 (in-Figure 4). Thiscauses a consequent movement of pvot means 45 to the right alongr levermeans 44,

wherein, as previously noted, it is obvious that the leverage ratios are made less favorable for 'weight 4| Atooppose bellows 32, hence a lower pressure in bellows- 32 is able to cause upward movement of shaftl 3| against the resisting effort of the weighted lever 44. Therefore, the pressure generated in bulb 35 byl a lower temperaturer is able to cause operation of damper blades. |-6' and IT, thusv` establishing a lowercontrol point.

With the apparatus in the position shown. and with indicating means 9|! turned toits clockwise extreme, itis obvious that member 9.4 cannotV be= moved either to the right or-leitbecause notch 88 in. the same is unable1 to slide over 9| beyond the limits of` necked-down portion 3S. However, when 9| is turned vertically to its neutral position, then 94 may be pushed inwardly andV move lever 23 in a. clockwise direction. It willr be noted that. movement of'- indicating eans 9|. to its vertical and neutral position not only lines up 9| with notch 98v so that: member 94 may be pushed'A inwardly, but it alsoadva-nces tubular portion 85 to the right due tooperation of pin 88 in slot 85. The movement. of' 85 to the right causes a consequent. movement of slide means` 'l5 to the right thusdisengagng wedge portion 82 from notch 51, as. previously clescribed, and, inthe neutral position, wedge portion 8| is not advanced far enough to the right to engage notch 54 of link 63; Therefore, both links 63 and 55.. are free to move without restrictionv from the slide means, l5. and lever means 23 is therefore free to move in a clockwise direction upon being operated by the said member 94. Movement of 94 inwardly, or to theV right, causes. a clockwise movement of lever 23 and results in a closing of damper blades. I5 and as will be obvious upon inspection.

A. further counterclockwise rotation of means 9| to its extreme, or to its Cooling position,

results. a further travel of tubular member A 85 to the right, and a consequent movement of slide.` means 'l5 resulting in amatingI engagement of wedge means 8| with notch. 54 of lin-k 63,

. pivot` 65.

therebyv causing a. restraining of the said linkV 63 and; permitting rotation of lever meansZjS; about When lever 2.3. is pivoted aboutA 65,

and upward.; motion of shaft 3| will result, in4 a counterclochwise rotation of lever 23, thus openbefore described', a downward movement of shaft 3| will, cause a clockwise rotation of; lever- 23 and a consequent closing of the said blades. As. will be obvious, a. relatively high temperature inthe Space being treated during cooling cycleY requires a relatively large dow of4 air hencev it; is quite proper that the relatively high pressure due to bulb 35 which, causes an expansion of bellows 32 and upward movement Qi' 3L adjuste blades l5 and l1 to their open position. Likewise, as the temperature in the space falls, the pressure exerted by bulb 35 on bellows 32 'is less, shaft 3| is moved downwardly by the eilect of weight 4|, and lever 23 is rotated clockwise about pivot 65 thus closing blades |6 and |1 and condition responsive means for decreasing the flow of air. Thus the present vapparatus is seen to operate properly for either heating or cooling control, has an adjustable control point for either sequence, and may b manually closed.

jmeans, means for operating said damper means comprising, in combination, a reciprocable shaft,

temperature responsive means for reciprocating r said shaft, spaced parallel reed means for guiding said shaft, lever means pivotally mounted on the said shaft and having a. weight at one end, pivot means longitudinally adjustable along the other end of said lever means for varying the eiTectiveness of the said Weight in opposing the said temf perature responsive means, additional lever means pivotally mounted on said shaft, said additional lever means including a pair of laterally extending r oppositely disposed crank portions, depending link means pivotally mounted on each of said crank portions, bearing means mounted between the inner edges of said link means, oppositely disposed V-notches formed in the outer edges of said link means, the vertical dimension of the said notches at their outer edges being at least 'equal to the normal vertical travel of the said s shaft, transversely adjustable oppositely disposed l V-shaped members arranged so that one member, the other member or neither member may interengage with the corresponding notches to hold the respective link means stationary and thus cause the said additional lever means to pivot about the interengaged link means, means for shifting the said V-shaped members into or out of engagement with the respective link means, and means connecting the said additional lever means to said damper means for operation thereof.

2. In an automatic register, in combination,

Imeans for controlling airflow, movable shaft means, guide means for said shaft means, temperature responsive means for moving the said shaft means, lever means pivotally mounted on said shaft means, link means pivotally mounted on said lever means on opposite sides of the pivotal mounting oi the said lever, wedge-like means for centering and locking one or another of said link means against movement, means for s;

controlling said locking means, and motion transmitting means connecting said lever means in operative relation with said airilow controlling means.

3; In control apparatus, in combination, means for controlling a medium, a movable member, moving said member to various positions, lever means pivotally mounted on said member, additional pivotH means for said lever means arranged on opposite sidesof the pivotal mounting of said lever means, clutch means having wedge-like surfaces attached to each of said additional pivot means, means for selectively engaging, forcing to a predetermined position and restraining said clutch means so that one or another of said pivot means may be restrained, and means connecting said lever means in operative relation to said controlling means.

4. In control apparatus, in combination, mov able means for controlling a medium, a movable member, condition responsive means for moving said member to various positions, lever means pivotally mounted on said member and having a plurality of additional pivot means on opposite sides of the pivotal mounting, means for operatively connecting said lever means to said controlling means, manually operable means for selectively restraining neither or one or another of said additional pivot means, manual means operable to adjust said movable means, and interengaging latch means arranged to permit manual adjustment of said movable means. only when said manually operable means is adjusted so that neither of said additional pivot means is restrained, m

5. In control apparatus, in combination, means for controlling a medium, a reciprocable member, means for exerting force on said member in one direction, means including a pivotal lever for exerting force on said member in an opposite direction, means for shifting the pivot of said lever to vary the eiect of the means including said lever on said member, additional lever means pivoted to said member, means linking said additional lever means to said controlling means, and means for selectively causing rotative motion of said additional lever means in one direction or another upon said member being moved in one direction due to a change in the resultant of the forces acting on the same.

6. In a control device, means for controlling the flow of a condition changing medium, a movable member, condition responsive means for moving said member to various positions, a lever means pivotally attached to said membervand connected to said controlling means, said lever including a pair of oppositely disposed crank portions, link members attached to each of said crank portions, bearing means engageable by a portion of each of said link members, each of said link members having a notch with inclined surfaces facing away from the bearing engaging portion of said link member, and a pair of stop means having surfaces adapted to mate with said inclined surfaces and thereby positively position and restrain one or another of said link members so that the restrained link member xes a pivot about which said lever means may pivot as said movable member is moved.

LINVELL ARNETT COX,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,016,824 Smith Oct. 8, 1935 2,135,300 Crago Nov.A 1, 1938 2,137,833 Crago Nov. 22, 1938 2,304,783 Donaldson Dec. l5, 1942 2,310,293 Joesting Feb. 9, 1943 

